A Fairy Tail Ending
by nocte-caelum
Summary: Zervis central. Begins part way through the events of chapter 527. What happens to Mavis and Zeref if their curses are broken, and Fairy Tail wins the war? What about their son, August? Read on to find out.


**So this is an alternate ending that starts part way through the events of chapter 527, just before Mavis runs into Lucy and Gray. In this version Gray isn't there when Mavis finds Lucy.**

 **nikkō = sunlight**

 **I took 'stella rex prime' from Ophiucus' incantation in the Eclipse Spirits arc (omnia magna stella rex prime, I think, I'm not really sure)**

 **Ultimum magicae - tempore mutationem = ultimate magic - time reversal**

 **Son't know if you above translations are very accurate - I had to use google translate *sigh* but oh well.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail ^_^**

* * *

Mavis ran through the ruined streets of Magnolia, searching for a certain blonde celestial mage. One of her magics, an ancient form of archive, had been searching for a way to defeat Zeref, and it had finally found one.

"Lucy!" This first master cried, catching the girl's attention. "I know how to defeat Zeref - but I need you to do it."

"Okay, First, what do I have to do?" Lucy replied seriously. She knew what was at stake if they lost this war.

"I need you to summon the celestial spirit king." Mavis said bluntly. Lucy recoiled in shock and fear, remembering what had happened last time she had summoned him. She didn't want to lose another friend, and she was about to tell the First no, but Mavis held up a hand.

"Just hear me out. You have summoned him before, you have contracts with over half the zodiac and you are descended from a celestial wizard. You tick all the boxes. You can make a contact with the celestial spirit king." Mavis said.

"But First, I can't make a contract with him - nobody can! He doesn't even have a key!" Lucy exclaimed.

Suddenly the world flashed a blinding white, and when the spots cleared from her eyes, Lucy could see that the First was frozen mid step.

"Th-this isn't what I think it is, is it?" She asked no-one in particular.

"Old friend..." A familiar voice said. "What the founder of Fairy Tail has told you is true."

 _The celestial spirit king!_ Lucy thought. _But why is he here - did he just say what I think he did?!_

The king chuckled. "The founder was correct. You fulfil all the criteria of my potential key holder, but she forgot one thing - I must personally approve any potential candidates. Fortunately for you, I think you are wonderful.

"You care for all your spirits and possess a pure, kind heart that is rarely found among humans, and though you have faced many hardships, you have not let them change you.

"You were willing to sacrifice your life for my old friend, Leo, and this act of kindness is what first made me take notice of you. I considered giving you my key right then and there, but I simply couldn't. Now, however, I can."

Lucy had been frozen from the moment he had started speaking, and when a shining crystal key began to float from the King's hand towards her, she stuttered and stumbled.

"I-I am not w-worthy of this honour, Majesty!" She said awkwardly.

"Nonsense!" Replied the King's booming voice. "I have deemed you worthy, and therefore you are. Now, go to Zeref and end this war. My old friend has suffered enough." He said the last part with a sad expression, and disappeared.

Mavis' body fell back to the ground from where it had been suspended, but she didn't stop moving, and Lucy had to run so fast to keep up that she couldn't draw enough breath to explain what had just happened.

Mulling over it in her head, Lucy wondered what the King had meant by that last bit. She was pretty sure he hadn't been referring to her or Loke when he said 'old friend'.

She didn't have much time to think about it, though, and suddenly, they were at the guild hall.

Mavis turned towards her with a serious look on her face. "Lucy, as soon as we enter, you must summon the celestial spirit king. I'll get Natsu out of harms way, and the King can end this war, ready? 3, 2, 1!" Mavis cried and opened the doors.

Lucy burst in. "Open thee, gate of the Celestial Spirit King! Stella Rex Prime!"

Another flash of blinding light came, reminiscent of the one that preceded the King's arrival earlier, but this time from the key that Lucy held. Natsu's image flickered, and he was transported next to Mavis.

Then, the King appeared. He was the size of...Natsu. Mavis and Lucy fell down anime-style, and the King looked at them.

"What? If I'd appeared here at full size, your guild hall would be completely destroyed." He then turned his attention to Zeref as the girls recovered. "Old friend...I'm truly sorry for all you have suffered. I can present to you a peaceful solution that will allow the curse to be lifted without you dying, and the world need not be destroyed either.

"One of the powers I have is absolute control over time. I can return your body to the state it was in just before you were cursed. This will decrease your magic power dramatically, but you can live without fear of killing innocent life forms."

Everyone there went completely silent, and Zeref dropped to his knees, hands over his face.

When he lifted his head, tears were streaming down his face. "So, I could have avoided...all this?!" He said in a hoarse voice.

"Perhaps." Replied the King. "However, everything you did ultimately led to Lucy obtaining my key, and this ability cannot be used unless I have been summoned by a celestial wizard who has my key. So, if you had not done all these horrific things, Lucy might not have gotten my key, and this option would not be available to you." He said in a somewhat consoling manner.

"I-thank you, Majesty. And you too, Lucy Heartfilia. I am in you debt - nothing I could ever do would able to repay this favour." Zeref said gratefully.

The King placed his hands together, palm to palm. "I will now cast the spell." He said. "Ultimum magicae - tempore mutationem!" Pure magic energy spilled from his hands and rushed towards Zeref, cocooning him.

When the smoke cleared - literally, the magic had burnt the guild hall, Zeref was standing there, his clothes in shreds.

Lucy and Mavis blushed tomato-red, and the King offered the equally embarrassed young man some clothes from the spirit world.

Natsu, who had been there the whole time was completely lost. He had no idea what they were talking about. "Damnit, what's going on?! Aaargh, my head hurts!" He exclaimed in annoyance.

Zeref snickered. "Maybe if your brain wasn't so tiny, it wouldn't hurt you to think, nikkō!" He said between laughs.

Everybody except Zeref fell down anime-style.

"Did-did he just make a joke?!" Lucy stage-whispered to Mavis.

"I think so. He sounds like Gray, don't you think?" The First replied.

"I can hear you, y'know." Zeref stated dryly. "I have a very good sense of humour, I just didn't see much point in jokes and laughter when I was suffering from my curse."

"Hey! Asshole! Who you calling 'sunbeam', huh?!" Natsu screamed.

"It was my childhood nickname for you, nikkō. Natsu means Summer, Summer means sunshine - so I called you nikkō or 'sunbeam'." Zeref replied calmly.

Whilst the boys were bickering, Lucy thanked the Celestial Spirit King for his help, and sent him back to the Celestial World.

Mavis telepathically contacted the guild, and told them to gather at Cardia Cathedral, and Lucy, Mavis, Natsu and Zeref then made their way there, with Natsu and Zeref still arguing.

 _They do have years of sibling rivalry to catch up on, I guess!_ Mavis said to Lucy telepathically.

 _Yeah, they do, don't they!_ She replied with amusement.

They reached the Cathedral, and noticed everyone was gathered in one spot, staring at something in the middle. The four newcomers simply barged their way through, and found Gildarts kneeling on the floor, sifting through a pile of dust. Beside him was a photograph and a letter, and he drew another letter out of the dust. The photograph was a sketch of Mavis, and the first letter was also addressed to her. The second one was addressed to Zeref.

Despite everyone having been told by master Mavis via telepathy that Zeref was with them, most guild members still shot him hostile looks.

"This writing..." Zeref said. "These letters are from August. Which means that pile of dust...he tried to cast his final spell. It's an immensely powerful spell that takes the caster's magic and combines it with their life force. It then destroys the surrounding area. It must have failed, though - August's power was such that this spell would have wiped out the entire world." The ex-black wizard informed Fairy Tail.

While he was doing this, Mavis was reading her letter.

 _Mavis Vermillion,_

 _You may not think you know me, but you do. My name is August, although I believe you once gave me a different name. If you have found this letter, it means I am now dead. Goodbye, I only wish that once, just once, I was able to hug you. Mother._

 _Kiron_

Her mind flashed back to when she had seen August, she had presumed he stopped casting the spell because he ran out of magic power, but could it have actually been because he saw her? The voice she heard after his body disintegrated...she had thought she was imagining things...Mother. She collapsed on the floor sobbing, and Zeref put his arms around her to comfort her.

He then opened his letter.

 _Father,_

 _I know you believe that you have no son, but that is untrue. Mavis sent me away shortly after I was born, because she thought her curse would kill me. It most likely would have. Then, when you returned and kissed her, it killed her and she didn't even have time to tell you I existed. I did it all for you, Father, everything. I just wish you had known._

 _Kiron_

Zeref's eyes then filled with tears, and he started sobbing with Mavis. "My son...I had a son..." He muttered over and over, almost inaudibly.

* * *

 ** _Mavis Vermillion. Zeref Dragneel. Rise, children of man._** A harsh, gravelly voice told them.

Mavis and Zeref looked up, and in front of them was a figure cloaked in darkness, his face hidden in shadows. They stood up, and the figure continued to talk.

 ** _I am Ankhseram, god of life and death. You were both placed under my curse for crimes most unforgivable. Zeref, you raised someone from the dead, and Mavis you used a forbidden spell without any training. However, neither of you appear to be afflicted by that curse anymore._** It turned to Mavis. **_Girl, you died and were once again revived, but I chose not to return your curse to you because when you casted that spell, your heart, your intentions, were pure. In honour of that, I gave the spell to your guild to protect it, and now I honour you. Mavis Vermillion, you are officially freed from the curse Of Ankhseram. But there is one more thing. To compensate you for the years you lost..._** The figure lifted a hand, and extended a single, skeletal finger towards Mavis. I will give you them back. A flash of light engulfed Mavis, and when it cleared, a young, blonde woman that looked to be about 20 stood in her place.

Zeref gaped. "Ma-vis?" He managed to choke out, and the woman nodded.

"Of course, who else would I be!" She said, and squeaked. Her voice sounded so _different_. She looked down at her body and almost passed out. She had the body of a woman! Finally! Now she could have baths with the other Fairy Tail girls without feeling embarrassed, and she could properly fill out a bikini!

Ankhseram chuckled at Zeref's blushing face and Mavis' obvious glee. **_Zeref_** , it sighed, becoming serious once again. **_You suffered so much. You did very bad things, but I can understand why. Your entire existence has been one long, painful experience, except for your time before my curse, and the time you had with Mavis. And it was my fault Mavis was taken from you. To compensate for this, I will not return your curse to you. However, I cannot let you go unpunished. I will give you another curse. Though, this one is a bit different. Zeref Dragneel, since you wanted to die so badly, your curse is to live. Now the only way you can die is to die is of natural causes. You will not be allowed to kill yourself, and no-one else can kill you either. You will grow old with Mavis, and die only from disease or old age._**

Zeref was shocked, but his shock soon turned into joy. He embraced Mavis, and was about to kiss her.

 ** _None of that now. One final thing. This person probably suffered more than you two combined. The one I speak of is your son, August. Or as I should probably call him, Kiron. He grew up with no parents, no family, no love. Forever being chased from place to place due to his immense magic power, and when he finally found his father... His own father didn't recognise him. To compensate for this, I shall return Kiron to you, as a newborn child. Now, your family will be whole - you can have another go at life. My debt is payed. Goodbye, Zeref Dragneel, Kiron Dragneel,_** it turned to Mavis and gave her what she presumed to be a knowing look, she couldn't really tell as it's face was still half hidden in the shadows. **_Mavis Dragneel_**.

Mavis squeaked again and Zeref turned so red Mavis thought his face was going to combust.

* * *

Suddenly, they were back with their guild mates - they hadn't even realised that they were gone, but everyone backed away from.

"Zeref, who is she? And where's Mavis?" Lucy asked suspiciously.

Zeref looked at Mavis, then at the guild, and realised they had no idea what had just happened.

 **Guild POV**

Mavis and Zeref were kneeling on the floor, hugging each other and crying when suddenly, there was a flash of light, and when it cleared the First was gone. In her place stood a pretty young woman of about 20, and she was holding a baby.

"Zeref, who is she? And where's Mavis?" Lucy asked suspiciously.

Zeref just looked at the woman then at the guild.

"Lucy, don't be silly! I'm right here!" The woman giggled.

Her voice did sound slightly familiar, and she pulled her sleeve up to reveal a golden guild mark on her arm. That colour...only Master Mavis had that colour!

"Mavis!" Lucy cried and went to pull the other woman in for a hug until she remembered the baby Mavis was holding.

"But what happened to you? And what's with the baby?" The celestial mage asked, confused.

As Mavis recounted their meeting with Ankhseram, Makarov pulled Zeref aside.

"Boy, I know you have done some...very bad things. And I'm pretty sure that you know that too, but just make Mavis happy. And trying not to destroy Fairy Tail or the world again would be nice." The old man said and patted him on the shoulder.

"So, Mavis, when's the wedding?" Mira asked innocently, and the rest of the guild sweat-dropped as her match-maker side came out.

Mavis blushed slightly, unsure of how to tell the enthusiastic woman. "Erm, we're actually already married. We got married about 100 years ago." She said, stammering slightly.

"Whaaat?!" The guild shouted, and the girls dragged Mavis away to get some answers.

"So, Zeref." Gray said. "What's with the kid?"

"Hm, oh that's our son, Kiron." Zeref replied, realising his mistake too late.

"Son?!" The guys yelled in unison.

Zeref rubbed his ears. "Yeah, it's a long story. Basically, August was actually our son from before I kissed Mavis and accidentally killed her, and the god who cursed me and Mavis gave him back to us as compensation and - wait, weren't you guys listening to Mavis' explanation earlier?" He asked.

"Well, not really." Max admitted.

Laxus cracked his knuckles. "So you mean to say that you did... _that_ with a thirteen year old?! Man, that's sick." He said with a dark expression, one that was on the faces of all the male guild members.

Zeref backed away, waving his hands at them. "No, it wasn't like that. Mavis was about 17 or 18 at the time - I'm not some pedophile!" He said defensively, and the males stopped walking towards him.

"I can't figure out if it's okay because she was at least 17, or messed up because she still looked like a thirteen-year-old." Laxus said, still glaring at Zeref. "I don't give a crap whether you're the greatest black wizard in the history of the world or not, but hurt her and we will hunt you down. No-one messes with Fairy Tail." He said menacingly and the other guys nodded in agreement.

"I have no intention of hurting my wife, okay? I love Mavis - I've loved for over a hundred years, and we've been married almost as long. I should probably mention, though, that I'm kinda indestructible now as well." He said smugly.

The guys continued their conversation, now on the topic of fights.

After the Fairy Tail members were brought up to date on everything, Mira stamped Zeref, and his guild mark came out the same gold as Mavis'.

"Aww, we match!" Mavis said happily, making Zeref blush and the rest of the guild laugh.

It took a while, but Fairy Tail repaired their guild hall and assisted the rest of Magnolia with repairs as well, and life went back to normal. As normal as Fairy Tail could be, anyway.

A few months after the guild hall was repaired, a shadowy figure showed up requesting to join. It recieved it's guild stamp and left, but not before tipping it's hood back slightly so that Zeref and Mavis could see part of it's face. They looked at each other in shock.

"Ankhseram?!" Zeref hissed, and the god simply winked and put one finger on it's lips before leaving.

 _Guess gods are the Mystogan type, then_ Mavis thought amusedly.

* * *

Fairy Tail continued to have many adventures, and when the generation that managed to wipe out the Baram alliance almost single-handedly grew old and died, there was a new generation to uphold the Fairy Tail legacy. And leading the pack was none other than Kiron Dragneel, son of Mavis and Zeref.


End file.
